The Third Wayhttps://mitchellplitnick.com
Political Analysis by Mitchell PlitnickMon, 05 Dec 2016 23:01:39 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gifSome Rights Reservedhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysishttps://feedburner.google.comHow Peace Can Survive Trump and Bibihttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/eb12sVDNsYU/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/12/05/how-peace-can-survive-trump-and-bibi/#commentsMon, 05 Dec 2016 19:11:33 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5513]]>In the wake of the United States’ elections, the waning weeks of 2016 are being defined by despair for progressives. That despair is at its thickest when considering the prospects for ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The questions that are troubling everyone concerned with resolving the conflict are existential: Is there any possibility of a Palestinian state anymore? How can we even keep hoping in the aftermath of the election in the United States? Is there any path forward? Yet, as troubling as the current situation is, hope and opportunity remain. Read more at The Times of Israel

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/12/05/how-peace-can-survive-trump-and-bibi/feed/1plitnickmjews-negged-trumphttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/12/05/how-peace-can-survive-trump-and-bibi/Prospects for Peace: Obama’s Last Stand and Opportunities in the New Administrationhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/XwvRfL44E2o/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/28/prospects-for-peace-obamas-last-stand-and-opportunities-in-the-new-administration/#commentsMon, 28 Nov 2016 18:22:15 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5505]]>Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon of Churches for Middle East Peace hosts Jim Zogby of the Arab American Institute, Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now and myself for this discussion about the end of the Obama era and the prospects of a Trump administration for Israel and Palestine.

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/28/prospects-for-peace-obamas-last-stand-and-opportunities-in-the-new-administration/feed/1plitnickmhttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/28/prospects-for-peace-obamas-last-stand-and-opportunities-in-the-new-administration/Can A New Democratic Party Rise From the Ashes of Clinton’s Defeat?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/IcmaVBKQyn8/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/17/can-a-new-democratic-party-rise-from-the-ashes-of-clintons-defeat/#commentsThu, 17 Nov 2016 18:58:18 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5493]]>It still hasn’t sunk in for me. The notion that this country is going to be led by Donald Trump is tough to digest. But the fact is, he is our next president. Like so many of us, I’m left asking “how the hell did this happen?”

I am no different than a lot of other so-called experts and pundits who were confident that Trump couldn’t win. In my case, I don’t think I underestimated how much racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism or xenophobia there is in the United States. Rather I underestimated how many people were so disgusted with the Washington political elite that they would vote for Trump over Clinton despite Trump’s personification of all those traits in abundance.

This is a time for liberals, progressives, and all manner of those who consider themselves to be on the left to look inward. The one silver lining that I can see right now is that the lessons of this election are so stark that there is good reason to hope they will be learned and that a very new and different Democratic Party will be the result. Read more at Medium

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/17/can-a-new-democratic-party-rise-from-the-ashes-of-clintons-defeat/feed/1plitnickmRepublican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegashttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/17/can-a-new-democratic-party-rise-from-the-ashes-of-clintons-defeat/FMEP Policy Brief: Israel’s “Formalization” Lawhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/HJYtE-v94A8/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/16/fmep-policy-brief-israels-formalization-law/#commentsWed, 16 Nov 2016 18:37:13 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5490]]>On Sunday the Israeli cabinet unanimously passed a bill that would legalize settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank that were built on privately owned

Banner reads “Every house that is demolished is a victory for Hamas.” This refers only to Jewish-owned houses in settlements.

Palestinian land. If passed by the Knesset, the law could potentially be used to raise the status of many outposts all over the West Bank to those of settlements that are legal under Israeli law. That would be a tremendous setback to the already dimming prospects of an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, and to the two-state solution. Read more at FMEP’s blog, Facts on the Ground

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/16/fmep-policy-brief-israels-formalization-law/feed/1plitnickmamonahttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/16/fmep-policy-brief-israels-formalization-law/How Far Will Trump’s Unpredictability Disrupt American Policy on Israel?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/yIlR1MTnYcU/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/09/how-far-will-trumps-unpredictability-disrupt-american-policy-on-israel/#commentsWed, 09 Nov 2016 18:13:19 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5485]]>The shocking victory of Donald Trump in the American presidential election will reverberate around the world. One place where those reverberations will be felt particularly keenly is Israel. The biggest problem is that no one knows what they will look like. Read more at HaaretzFiled under: Uncategorized, United States Tagged: 2016 Election, Chuck Schumer, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Israel

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/09/how-far-will-trumps-unpredictability-disrupt-american-policy-on-israel/feed/1plitnickmtrumphttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/11/09/how-far-will-trumps-unpredictability-disrupt-american-policy-on-israel/Likud Chairman Threatens Citizenship of B’Tselem’s Executive Directorhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/Gmez9UYPIDU/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/10/21/likud-chairman-threatens-citizenship-of-btselems-executive-director/#commentsFri, 21 Oct 2016 20:10:54 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5471]]>Earlier today, Likud Knesset Member, David Bitan, who chairs the governing faction in the Knesset, stated on an Israeli talk show that he would try to find a way to strip the citizenship of Hagai El-Ad , executive director of B’Tselem. Bitan described El-Ad’s testimony to a special session of the United Nations Security Council on Israeli settlements as “explicit breach of trust by an Israeli citizen against the state, and as such he should find himself another citizenship.”

Zehava Gal-On, the Chairwoman of the Meretz party, described Bitan’s comments as “dangerously close to incitement to murder.” That characterization is important considering right wing efforts over the past two years to incite violence against peace and human rights activists in Israel. Read more at Facts on the Ground, FMEP’s blog

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/10/21/likud-chairman-threatens-citizenship-of-btselems-executive-director/feed/1plitnickmbtselem-logohttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/10/21/likud-chairman-threatens-citizenship-of-btselems-executive-director/The Settlements vs. the Peace Processhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/pmgY0tPBzOY/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/10/07/the-settlements-vs-the-peace-process/#commentsFri, 07 Oct 2016 20:40:38 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5466]]>On Wednesday, in the wake of Israel’s announcement of hundreds of more units in West Bank settlements, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a page on its website articulating its view that building in the occupied West Bank is legal under international law and is not, as many critics claim, an impediment to peace. The fact that the MFA felt the need to make such a case indicates that rising international criticism, particularly from the U.S., is having an impact, and that case bears an examination of its key claims. Read more at “Facts on the Ground,” the Foundation for Middle East Peace’s blog.Filed under: Settlements Tagged: High Court in Israel, international law, Israel, Netanyahu, Settlements

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/10/07/the-settlements-vs-the-peace-process/feed/1plitnickm640px-beitar_ilithttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/10/07/the-settlements-vs-the-peace-process/Q&A With Rebecca Vilkomersonhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/yDt6hly6fL8/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/09/27/qa-with-rebecca-vilkomerson/#commentsTue, 27 Sep 2016 19:01:12 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5463]]>Rebecca Vilkomerson has been a member of Jewish Voice for Peace since 2001 and the group’s Executive Director since 2009. She lived with her family in Israel from 2006-2009. In 2010 she was named one of the 50 most influential Jewish American leaders by the Forward, and was named one of “14 Women to Watch” in 2014.

FMEP: Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) has, in some ways, been a lightning rod for the global movement for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel (BDS). Many people can’t reconcile the idea of a Jewish organization advocating a boycott of Israel. Obviously, this is especially true for those who see BDS as unfairly anti-Israel, even anti-Semitic. As the Executive Director of JVP, how do you respond to those charges? And, perhaps a parallel question, what would you say are the major differences between the public perception of the BDS movement and its reality?

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/09/27/qa-with-rebecca-vilkomerson/feed/1plitnickmrebecca-vilkomersonhttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/09/27/qa-with-rebecca-vilkomerson/Five Takeaways from the US-Israel MOUhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/MWa0UPgtKuU/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/09/15/five-takeaways-from-the-us-israel-mou/#commentsThu, 15 Sep 2016 14:22:48 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5461]]>On Wednesday Israel and the United States finally signed a new Memorandum of Understanding(MOU), committing the United States to provide Israel with $38 billion in military aid over the ten years spanning 2019-2028. The sum includes $5 billion for missile defense, which Israel had previously had to lobby Congress for each year for a $200 million per year increase in basic aid. The MOU makes some changes to the system by which the US provides aid to Israel, and was also unusually difficult to negotiate. Here are five takeaways: Read more at Facts On The Ground, An FMEP BlogFiled under: Congress, us military aid to Israel, US-Israel Lobby Tagged: Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, Missile defense, MOU, Palestine, Two-state solution, US Aid to Israel

]]>https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/09/15/five-takeaways-from-the-us-israel-mou/feed/1plitnickmhttps://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/09/15/five-takeaways-from-the-us-israel-mou/Brooklyn Commons Owner Responds, Doubles Down on Anti-Semitic Speakerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThirdWayFindingBalanceInMideastAnalysis/~3/qYZroesjG6k/
https://mitchellplitnick.com/2016/09/07/brooklyn-commons-owner-responds-doubles-down-on-anti-semitic-speaker/#commentsWed, 07 Sep 2016 04:51:18 +0000http://mitchellplitnick.com/?p=5457]]>The owner of Brooklyn Commons, Melissa Ennen, has finally responded to the controversy around the appearance of 9/11 Truther and anti-Semite Christopher Bollyn. Unfortunately, her response is to defend his appearance at her venue. Here is her statement, in full:

“During the past week I have been bombarded by emails objecting to the upcoming talk by Christopher Bollyn at The Commons on the grounds that he is anti-Semitic. People are demanding that I cancel the event. Some are threatening dire consequences for The Commons. What has brought us to this?

Brooklyn Commons owner, Melissa Ennen

On July 14, I received an email from a man named Irving Lee asking to rent the Commons in September for a talk by Christopher Bollyn. Bollyn was described in the email as a 9/11 researcher who had been on a Pacifica/WBAI program called Guns & Butter hosted by Bonnie Faulkner. Irving Lee, the man who booked and paid for the rental, identified himself as follows: “We are not part of any organization. We’re just a group who want to bring Bollyn, a cutting edge speaker to NYC for the 15th anniversary of 9/11.”

I did not research the speaker before accepting the rental. I do not have the time, resources or inclination to censor the hundreds of groups who rent the space. Since launching in 2010, the list of renters has included local Tea Partiers, conservative promoters of charter schools, explicitly anti-union corporations, elected officials who voted for the Patriot Act and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although progressive organizations dominate the calendar because I subsidize many of them with free or very low-cost use of the space, the Commons is available for rental by other groups.

This morning some of the people who rent co-working spaces at The Commons issued a statement denouncing the Bollyn event, declaring that “such [antisemitic] politics should have no place in leftist spaces.” I agree that all forms of racism should have no place in leftist spaces, but in my opinion, to get to the root of racist thinking, confrontation works better than censorship.

During the past six years at The Commons, I have observed many incidents of racism, sexism, homophobia and gender-identity discrimination, not to mention the pervasive exercise of class privilege. We live in a sick society, and leftists are not immune. This is why I encourage groups to use the Commons as a safe space for workshops and other events where they can explore and/or escape the hate and pain engendered by our many divisions.

But I never intended for The Commons to be a safe space at all times. Nor was it designed to be a cozy cocoon for intramural debate among leftists. From the beginning my goal has been to foster discussion among disparate groups across a wide political spectrum.

In yesterday’s New York Times op-ed section, among a collection of letters devoted to Free Speech on Campus, is one from Paul Frantz in San Francisco: “As a Stanford University engineering student in the 1970s, I jumped at the chance to hear a presentation by the Nobel laureate William Shockley, whose contribution to the invention of the transistor changed the world. His presentation turned out to be hateful, white-supremacist pseudo-scholarship about the supposed intellectual inferiority of black people. I learned some of the most important lessons of my college career at that presentation. I learned that high I.Q. does not imply wisdom or character. I learned what can go wrong when everyone tells you how brilliant you are, and you believe them. And I learned that the smartest guy in the room can be wrong. To this day, I am grateful there were no protestors on hand to prevent a racist from teaching me those lessons.”

Let’s examine her points, one by one.

It is telling that Ennen uses the term “censor” to describe taking responsibility for who appears at the venue she owns, and ensuring that hate speech does not find a forum there. But that aside, Ennen clearly fails to distinguish between hate speech and various political ideologies. She does not see The Commons as a progressive space. That’s fine, and as such, it can be open to the various speakers she names. But none of those groups she names are explicitly hate groups (however much many racists, sexists, war profiteers, etc. might be associated with them). In hosting Bollyn, she is giving a forum to an explicit anti-Semite who has been spewing his hate for many years.

As I have pointed out, it is absolutely understandable that Bollyn has been able to get into various venues under the radar. His name is not widely known. But her plea of “lack of time” doesn’t mesh well with the swift response, for example, of Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys and Poets, who sprang into action once he was made aware of Bollyn’s views. Shallal owns numerous restaurants and is very active politically. He has a lot on his plate, but immediately made time for this issue.

Finally, Ennen trots out the tired argument about bringing racist views to light. I actually have some sympathy for this idea, in the abstract. I do believe that bigotry in all its forms is best confronted, not suppressed. I think suppression leads to a seething cauldron of hate under the surface just waiting for the right demagogue (maybe one named, oh, say, Trump, for example) to bring it erupting to the surface. But that does not mean providing the platform for racists to spew their hatred–they have places where they can, and do, speak.

Moreover, this argument would ring a lot truer of Ennen herself didn’t share at least some of Bollyn’s bizarre Truther views. That she does not disclose this rather important point in her statement helps her create a false impression that she is merely trying to present a wide range of views. In fact, she is either promoting anti-Semitism or is willing to allow it to be preached in service of her own views. This is not about presenting a range of views, but about Ennen promoting her own views, so let’s drop the pretenses at least.

Meanwhile, more groups have raised their voices against Bollyn’s appearance. Notably, CUNY For Palestine, which advocates a boycott of Israel and specifically an academic boycott, condemned the Commons for hosting Bollyn. I suppose to Bollyn and possibly to Ennen as well, they, too, are part of the global Jewish conspiracy.